****This is the story of how Homegoods / TJ Maxx broke CA law and failed at simple customer service****
Saturday June 24, 2017 my wife and I walked into this location to shop around. We found a wine barrel that was made of aluminum and stood about 2ft tall. The barrel has a door which swings open and houses a few wine bottles as it has a wine rack built inside. There was a 3" scratch on it and some minor dents which we also noticed, however we thought the manager could give us a small discount for the damage.
**The problem started with the price**
It had a sticker price of $59.99 and as we went to purchase it(along with 2 other items), the associate stated it was really nice, and "if she had know it was wine rack, she would have bought it herself". The manager on duty was called(Natalie; tall and thin with blonde hair). We went over the damage and at this point, she said she would approve 10% off. HOWEVER, once she noticed the price, she said it was too cheap and it must have been mislabeled either by their staff or a sticker was swapped. The manager had 2 other associates get on phones and call the local storesk(Temecula & Moreno Valley). None of the stores have seen the barrel, however an associate at the Moreno Valley store mentioned they have seen it and it was about $150. No sku, item number or ANY other information was given but this.
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At this point, the cashier refused to sell the item and the manager also agreed that they cannot sell this item to us because "it's worth more". They also said maybe the sticker was switched, however this is not I, the customers problem. There was no sign of this either.
The manager and associate were not giving me an opportunity to explain that it is labeled as such for $59.99 and that by CA law, the customer is to receive the price labeled on the item or as it was advertised. I did a quick Google search and came up with a VALID CA law. I attempted to explain that the store was breaking a CA law(CA Business & Professional Code # 12024.2), however they kept implying they don't have to sell it and they won't sell it to me. I couldn't even get a word in.
Homegoods/ Tj Maxx corporate was called on Monday June 26, 2017 and some research was done on this situation. I was in FACT correct and should have been given the item at listed price. The store manager the customer rep spoke to named Edward also confirmed this.
I confirmed to the corporate customer service rep the location of the store this incident happened at the manager on duty description and they assured me it was right. I called the menifee store after being told by customer service that there was nothing they could do unless I go back and find it labeled at this same price. Obviously at this point in time, it would be re-labeled or bought by said associate. I called this store to see if they still possibly had the barrel but the associate said there was no manager by Edward there and who I described was a manager named Natalie. The associate did state that barrel was sold as she saw it. Now customer service failed this simple task by talking to the incorrect store and not really doing any solid confirmation of the described manager I delt with and location.
Now you have an upset customer which has bought from homegoods repeatedly for many years. Fail after fail.
Corporate, if you're reading this, please contact me and also make sure your managers know their retail laws. I've never worked retail, but I know how to read signs placed in stores. read more